Book Blogs & Friends

July 25, 2011

It's so hard sometimes to write when there is so much sadness in the world. I'm sure I'm not alone in the heartache felt this weekend from the horrific events that occurred in Norway.

I love Norway. Not only am I a 1/4 Norwegian but I spent a year there as a teenager. I experienced a year of the emotion of feeling safe in that very peaceful country. I camped on islands, took the bus with friends to cities and towns without adults, travelled alone by train and became immersed in the Norwegian culture. I speak the language although very poorly. But I get by and usually at least get a smile from Norsk people at how incorrectly I would place words together. They are such an amazing culture and it simply hurts that so many young people were lost.

I debated about writing today and doing a Thrift Share Monday post but I've decided to do it anyway when I ran across my Thrifted Norwegian flag that my father bought me for $3 at the flea market. It is waving in front of our house in support to Norway. I still remember hanging up our American flag on our door in Virginia after 9/11. Terrorism hurts no matter where it strikes in our world. Norway....I love you.

Pyrex Nesting Bowls $4 for the set.

This set was the kind that I grew up with, down to the exact color. I can still see my mother bringing out a bowl of pesto pasta to the table in the large yellow bowl. This set looks like it had never been used. I was so happy to find it.

This was my best find of last week. I found her waiting for me without a frame in a Thrift Store leaning against a piece of furniture. Her price was fabulous and although I couldn't make out the artist I still bought it. It took my husband to decipher that the artist was Alain Bonnefoit from France. It's signed and numbered and appears to be somewhat rare. I went through hundreds of Alain's lithographs at LiveAuctioneers but couldn't find this one. (by the way, this lithograph is nude and so are many of Alain's art so if that bothers you I'd suggest not researching him :-) I finally found one on this website with an estimate of $450-$650. I was so excited to have gambled and won. Now to find the perfect auction house to sell this piece.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

July 11, 2011

I have still so much to do. My goal for the summer is to clear out the house and garage. Luckily this weekend we had a garage sale which brought us in a nice chunk of money and gave us space to sort, organize and purge.

And luckily while my lovely husband and daughter worked the sale, Keiran and I were out thrifting. In the last month Keiran's thrift intuition and skills have improved ten fold. Twice now I've handled something and put it down only to find him picking it up and pointing out the important facts of "14k" or "sterling."

Sunday morning I couldn't decide whether to head to the flea market or go to an estate sale. He gave me the sage advice to head to the estate sale since the prices will be better and not sold by dealers. I felt like I was having a discussion with a 20 year old and not a 9 year old. We headed to the estate sale where I found four of these chairs waiting for me.

Turquoise Fiberglass Chairs made by Krueger (a direct competitor to the Eames designed chair) $2 for all four! (picture was taken right we we arrived home - so they have yet to be cleaned)

They have some rust on the frames but overall the fiberglass is in pretty good condition and the coloring is superb. They will be perfect around our patio table. Keiran and I are going to start working on them. Do any of you have experience with removing surface rust?

Saturday morning we went to an estate sale where I was delighted to find these:

Nearly a year ago I had found a few pieces of this Lyon Cortez at our local thrift store. Ten months since my desire to own this set I was able to win two relatively inexpensive auctions on eBay as well as my find two days ago. My set is practically complete now. The best thing about collecting this flatware is that it is very desirable which means that if I ever need money, I can turn it around and sell it. I'm hoping that I won't ever have to but it's nice to have a little savings account in my silverware drawer.

It was a perfect Retro weekend.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.